Arigatou
by Ars Silentium
Summary: "Arigatou..." she murmured. Potential spoilers for Birth by Sleep ending.


**A/N:** I thought I should give Aqua a story, too. Unfortunately, it will only be a oneshot due to my schedule these days. If you want, you can listen to the song I based this off on YouTube or if you have it, your music player. It _should_ add effect. If it doesn't, well, at least you enjoyed? Not sure if this qualifies as a songfic...?

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts © Square Enix, Disney. Arigatou (Thank You) © Home Made Kazoku.

* * *

Even if Aqua only saw those two beams of light just once, she was very, very happy about it.

Those two beams of light, her friends, came at the most hopeless moment, turning that moment into one of inspiration and motive. She couldn't help but smile, when she looks back to that moment. Even if they disappeared, they were still there. Apparent. They warmed her heart even if they were miles or even worlds apart. Maybe even farther. She didn't mind; friendship was that strong.

_This is a rhapsody full of the emotions I feel everyday,_

And while she was sad every day, she was also happy, too. Well, content, to be more true. She still wanted to get out of this hell hole called the Realm of Darkness. She was always lost here, and so, she would always walk forward. Forward, forward, and perhaps the occasional right or left. This realm was so vast, there were no dead ends; well, almost, of course. There were still caves that ended.

Other than that, she found it utterly poetic. Aqua always moved forward, fighting, thinking, looking, understanding, hoping. She would have faded into darkness so long ago, were it not for those two beams of light. She remembered them clearly, disregarding everything else (or almost). Time didn't seem to flow here, and somehow, she still felt time dwindling by. Her body did not age, her mind did not forget, her legs never grew tired. She never slept, but if she did, her dreams would have been of those times she spent with Terra and Ven. The three of them were closely knit, no matter how they say: "a group of three is hard to maintain".

_For the people who have supported me._

She never really talked nowadays, but if she did, it was to check if she could still talk. Aqua needed to know if her voice did not fade by some cruel fate because if it did, and help came, she wouldn't know how to explain herself.

The thought passed by her head, so she murmured something to nothingness. If she so much as raised her voice to its normal volume, it would attract something. Never someone because, well, no one was here except her, a lone figure clad in blue.

"Terra," Aqua said softly, very softly. At least her voice was still there. But before you think anything, no, she did not have favoritism. Last time she checked her voice, she said "Ventus". Aqua always alternated between the two of them, murmuring a soft "Eraqus" every now and again; it just really wasn't part of the pattern. Don't get her wrong, she still loved Master Eraqus as a father; but she didn't want to remember how he was long gone.

At hearing a small echo of the name she just said, her smile widened. Making up an excuse to herself, that being how she heard nothing else most of the time, she said "Ventus", though a bit louder. Seemingly addicted, she said "Eraqus", too. All three names were successful in echoing back. She grinned. Aqua began listing all the people she knew and supported her in any way possible. Skipping the three, she said Snow White, Grumpy, Sneezy, Bashful, Doc, Sleepy, Happy, Dopey, Cinderella, Jaq, Zack, Hercules, Experiment 626, you name it, she said it.

_Let my appreciation reach you._

She wasn't aware, but she was somehow so caught up in happiness at hearing the names that she began screaming. It awoke a few monsters from the endless abyss below her; everything began to stir violently, as if the abyss had a ground that sent vibrations. Aqua nearly lost her balance, stretching her arms like an eagle in an attempt to keep said balance, though barely. A giant monster appeared before her; the same kind that appeared to her when those beams of light came around. The vibration stopped.

Aqua threw her arm out, hand closed around thin air. The gap between her fingertips and the palm of her hand was filled with a brilliant light that left a metal rod in its wake. The rest of the rod extended into a guard, body, and teeth that formed a vague E for Eraqus, she supposed.

The creature of pure darkness raised a threatening fist, and she almost imagined those two beams of light again in the back of her mind. The memory swam in and out of her vision, proposing an illusion that she knew deep down wouldn't happen again, however sad. The creature brought its fist down; she jumped, then jumped once more midair. She couldn't fly, like Ven could, but her double-jumps sufficed—and so did he air dashes. Though, they never worked here, as there was no wind in this Realm, and if there was, it was faint. An air slide needed a small mix of Aero.

Focusing her now-wandering mind on the situation at hand, she gracefully landed on the forearm of the creature and bravely ran up to its head, all the while preparing her Keyblade (technically, Eraqus' Keyblade) for a powerful stab through its strangely boneless head. As her right foot stepped on its shoulder, she pierced the target with a great thrust of both arms, through its eye. The creature lost control of its body, growing limp. She smirked in success, but it didn't last long. When the creature dispersed and had its dark essence sink back to the abyss, it brought her with it without needing to grab her. Gravity did that for it.

She fell, eyes wide. Aqua felt her grip on her Keyblade slacken, eventually having her fingers let go completely. Even though she began falling with her feet first, physics made her flip and she was now falling head first, not even sure if she would hit anything. She suddenly felt like Alice—she read that book—how she fell through the rabbit hole endlessly. Like an abyss; she talked to herself, she began dosing off; both actions done as she was falling.

But Aqua couldn't do the same. She was panicking because she in fact _did_ see an end; darkness. It was going to swallow her whole.

The darkness didn't need to move for it to creep closer. She stared straight into blackness as time slowed and her demise was actually right in front of her. All her memories flashed by; memories of her whole life which was not very long. She began to say something that the silence drowned out. She didn't know what, but she said something. Hey eyes beginning to sting, she closed them...

...and felt a powerful gust of wind that blew upwards, shortly followed by her ears picking up grinding earth and hitting something very, very unforgivably hard. She opened her eyes in surprise, and cried.

_Thank you for everything, thank you so much._

The powerful gust of wind had brought her upwards, and she was sure that this platform she was on had not been there before, otherwise, she would have landed on this instead of falling so close to death. The stinging in her eyes grew, but she was happy. She was happy her eyes were stinging. She was happy because her eyes stinging reflected how thankful she was. Earth and wind; Terra and Ven. Aqua sat there, legs bent in such a way that they were beside her still. She covered her face with both hands and cried; the impact of everything was so strong that it forced all her tears out.

With enough time, she lowered her hands, brought out her Wayfinder, and smiled, ever wide. She brought it to her chest and it physically warmed her. The tears wouldn't stop.

_No matter where you are, I am grateful to you._

"Arigatou..." she murmured.


End file.
